To Ruby, the situation called for some serious deductive reasoning. But no matter how much thought she put into the process, there was only one conclusion that she could arrive to in the end. This girl, this girl who was standing before her now, had to be her best friend. The silver hair, the unmistakable hue of electric blue in her eyes, even that expression that always seemed closer to a frown than a smile - everything about her screamed Weiss.
Ruby had been imagining this day for a month, the chance in which she would be able to see her partner again. That tiny shred of hope was the only thing that kept her awake. Take that from her and she had nothing.
"Who. Are. You?"
Yet the deep sense of happiness and warmth she achieved upon her partner's discovery slid away effortlessly. If possible, it felt wrong. This hadn't been the kind of heartfelt reunion Ruby had been envisioning since their unbearable separation. Because despite her friend having earned a notorious reputation for being cold and biting, enough to be the reigning Ice Queen, the heiress still cared deeply for the team. And to care meant to allow even for the tiniest sign of glee to show upon seeing Ruby, who had been her inseparable companion for so long.
But emotions, even those that could have been forced, just weren't there. Ruby could sense the elation inside of her instantly sink, submerging into a chasm of oblivion as none of it was reciprocated by the person in front of her. If the absence of friendly affection hadn't been enough of a warning signal, then the vehement denial of the memories they had built together should have undeniably done the trick.
"I've never seen you before in my life."
That line struck Ruby in a manner that could not be described in this life. A befitting metaphor for it would be a toxic bomb. Her partner's statement slid inside her ears like poison, threatening to spread and shut down every remaining nerve cell and blood vessel that kept her feeble body moving. And the thought of the claim containing even a single percentage of truth... Nothing terrified Ruby more than that.
Yes, she hadn't been the best leader. But nowhere along the list - a very long and explicit list recounting her recent mistakes and self-doubt - was there a single note pointing towards amnesia. The first instinctive response had been worry. Then upon further interrogation, Ruby realized that the gravity of the problem went well beyond her care. This was not a joke. This was not a problem that could be cured by concern alone.
Blame.
It would be logical to find the person who did this to her partner, extract answers from the nefarious villain, and restore her friend's sanity. But who would be responsible for such a plot? Weiss wasn't aware that she was suffering from memory loss at all.
Beacon Academy. Their friendship. Even the Grimm. Weiss Schnee had lost them all.
Ruby tried to understand when and how the head injury could have taken place. Had it been before or after she ran up the tower in order to save- No. Perhaps her older sister hadn't been entirely truthful when she said that Weiss was merely shipped off to her original home. She could have been hurt after Ruby left her behind in a sea of Grimm. Or had it been something here in Atlas that caused the damage?
"I don't know how you managed to get past security but I will tolerate no more of this." Weiss appeared to be running out of threats to tell. "Now, get out of this house before I call the guards. And don't think I won't! ...My father's rich!"
Weiss's father.
Surely the heiress's father, the Dust monopolist, would know what the problem was and would be working to help his youngest daughter with her mental condition. Ruby would talk to him in private, demanding answers and a promising solution. But that strategy, too, soon drifted out of her mind.
Something desperate and despairing latched onto Ruby, telling her that letting the heiress out of her sight would be, and always will be from now on, a terrible idea.
There was no use arguing anymore. She would have to show Weiss the truth.
"Yeah, I know your dad's rich," Ruby growled. "But does he know you've gone crazy? Look outside- Our world is about to go to war and you're-"
Ruby gestured out the windowsill, and then dramatically paused.
Hold on. She had just been exploring a damp cave with Jaune, arguing and chasing down an Alpha. How in the world did she even end up here? This place, whatever kingdom it was, it was the first time Ruby ever laid eyes upon it.
A few phrases rambled out of her mouth. Ruby recognized them to be inconsistent expressions of her own thoughts, each of them attempting to explain to herself and Weiss what had happened to her during the past fifteen minutes of twilight.
No. This was wrong, and the situation remained equally unaccountable. Ruby made up her mind. Staying in this room certainly wasn't helping either of them.
Knocking the heiress off of her feet would never be a justifiable act in any given universe. But granted, the situation called for much bravery and haste. Ruby, expecting the worst rebuking of her lifetime, took the reluctant Ice Queen into her arms and ran head first out the opened window. Air swished against their clothes and arms. Screaming directly into her ear, Weiss unconsciously clutched onto her, squeezing her arms around her chest as they descended with speed. Despite the extra load than usual, Ruby managed to find her balance and touched the ground with both her feet. Their safe landing seemed to calm the heiress temporarily, only out of pure shock and relief. Once both prior emotions left her system, the heiress went back to yelling at her.
"What are you? Crazy?" Weiss shrieked, pushing violently against her stomach.
"I'm not crazy," Ruby barely wheezed out. "I'm just..."
"Put me down this instant!" And at that tone of authority, even Ruby had no other choice but to let her go.
"I just need some answers," she said frantically.
Weiss, however, refused to believe her.
"Get away from me!" Ruby felt damaged, her hand falling listlessly to her side as Weiss had slapped at it. Hopeless, she stared at the heiress, hoping that somehow she could communicate to the heiress that she was telling the truth. Yet the telepathic message went unheard. Weiss, still panting heavily, retreated from her, and then sprinted off at an astonishingly agile pace. Ruby, after a minute of demoralizing trauma, recovered enough to follow.
Heavy footsteps were heard across the quiet garden. Her ears caught onto the noise at once, fathoming that the steps were too weighty and loud to belong to her partner. Without apprehending exactly what she was doing, Ruby hid her body behind a bush, in perfect timing as two suited men stumbled out of the maze of bushes. Looking like they were on a hunt, they searched around the corners of the house. Calming her heart, Ruby tried to figure out who they were.
Security.
Weiss had called for security.
It hurt Ruby to think that she was being treated as the enemy rather than a friend, but she knew better than to show her face now. The guards didn't seem like they were in the mood to sit and chat. Tiptoeing around, Ruby watched them in stealthy silence as she reached around her back. Her heart plummeted another hundred meters.
She had lost Crescent Rose. Her weapon must be at the cave where she had last made use of it.
Feeling even more vulnerable, Ruby took out her scroll instead. The first step would be to get out of here and call for reinforcement. She attempted to turn on her device but even that plan failed her. The hologram screen flashed once and then died. It had been working just yesterday! She howled in frustration.
Where was Jaune? Would he still be at the cave or would he have been sent here as well? Ruby prayed that it was the latter, wishing that her friend hadn't been torn into pieces by the raging Alpha... But if the blond had experienced the same effect, then shouldn't he have been present in Weiss's room as well?
"There's nothing here!" A voice called out from behind.
The men, after a while of searching, had given up. Muttering darkly to themselves, they sauntered off the stony paths. Ruby took the chance to leap out of the thorny bushes. Using her semblance, she kicked off into the air, running up the tall garden wall and landing perfectly across the vertical obstacle. Scurrying out of the narrow alleyway, Ruby followed the outline of the gates until she could see the Schnee estate from its anterior point of view. It was enormous, Ruby observed in awe. The place was at least three times bigger than her house in Patch. She had always speculated about her partner's mansion whenever Weiss mentioned the types of services she had grown accustomed to back at home. Now, everything made sense.
Quickly, Ruby shook her head. Now wasn't the time to be marveling at her partner's family wealth. Answers, she needed answers...
Thankfully, several humans were outside walking along the cement-paved streets. It felt strange, seeing other people after a few weeks of wandering around the woods with only Ren, Nora, and Jaune for company. Feeling resolved, Ruby dashed into one of them, a middle-aged man who had been moving towards his parked car.
"Um, sir? Excuse me!" As she waved, the man physically flinched in surprise. "Hi. So sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you can tell me where I am?"
"Uh..." He stared at her clothes in an incredibly judging manner. "Uh... What?"
"What part of Remnant are we in?" She clarified.
"...Is this some kind of joke?" The man gave her a disparaging glance. "I think it's time for school, kid."
"But I..." Ruby was at a loss for words. "I don't understand... Miss? Do you know where we are? Are we in Atlas?"
The next pedestrian merely gave her an uncomprehending look before hurrying off with an apology. A crowd was beginning to form. Several more bystanders were staring at her now, stopping their daily duties to peer over at Ruby with curious round eyes.
"It's a simple question, people!"
Apparently it wasn't, as no one approached her with a proper reply.
Growing scared, Ruby ran past them, choosing to find a bigger crowd to engage with.
It was strange. Something about the environment, the world, had subtly changed. Ruby couldn't pinpoint what the minor differences were but they were present for sure.
Was it the buildings and streets that appeared more rustic than the modern roads of Vale city? Ruby searched around but hardly saw any holographic lampposts or bus stops in the neighborhood.
Even the people grew foreign to her now. Perhaps it was the lack of color in people's hairs. Or perhaps it was the lack of diversity. She understood that not a lot of Faunus would like to live near the Schnee mansion. Ruby suspected that Weiss's father may even have something to do with the living arrangement, but it was still unsettling that not a single Faunus was in sight.
Everything - the streets, the stores...
Yes, something was definitely off.
There was peace.
Children whizzed across the streets on their bikes, gleefully travelling down sloped curves as they swerved. The buses on the road advertised for soda pops instead of the usual campaign for Dust vials or weaponry. There was neither concern nor fear for what was upcoming next.
Her father had told her that most of Vale had been deserted, consumed by the worry of potential Grimm invasions. Uncle Qrow informed her that Atlas was in chaos, having taken most of the blame for what happened at Beacon Academy. Vacuo? Ruby had never been there before, but she knew that most of the area was covered in desert lands. Mistral. The place she had been heading to with team Juniper. Whatever condition it was in, Ruby doubted that it would be in such state of merriment.
Ruby Rose wasn't sure how it had happened and how it was even possible, but the people of this town had left the world of Remnant behind.
It was clear that Weiss must act completely calm and sensible the next time she walked down the stairwell. It was the least she could do after wreaking havoc too early in the morning and her poor reputation at this household was already hanging by a thread.
All things considered, it took several multiple tries until Weiss could fully become calm. Although the mysterious girl had vanished, her disappearance concerned Weiss even more, causing her to doubt whether she had imagined the entire event. Yet the bat was still lying on the ground and her bed was in an untidy mess. The conversation which involved the subject of monsters, fighting, and wars still rang inside her ear, feeling too real to be perceived as auditory hallucinations.
Weiss didn't feel safe being alone. She wasn't sure when or where the girl – Ruby Rose she called herself – would pop out again. The only action Weiss could do was shutting her window, locking it tightly and then closing the curtains around it like a done deal. If security cameras and door locks weren't enough to keep the girl out, then Weiss hardly deemed drapery as a solution to her problems. But upon second thought, it made her feel oddly safer when she blocked out the scenery of the world from her third floor cell. Claiming that she wasn't in any mortal danger, Weiss urged her body to move on.
Peering into a mirror, she fixed the pin aligning her navy plaid shirt, flattened the collars of her white shirt, then finally buttoned up the front of her black cardigan. The uniform felt soft but stiff, like all new clothes did when meeting its first owner. With her fingers, Weiss delicately brushed her bangs, turning them from right to left, hoping to make a bigger difference than it usually did. Nevertheless, none of what she did helped in covering up the fact that she had hair so light that it looked practically white. It was never possible to detract attention from herself and Weiss had given up on trying.
After checking her reflection once or twice more, Weiss carefully traveled downstairs, keeping her steps light like a child would on Christmas morning.
She happily noticed that the foyer was empty and dismissed of all servants. A few bustles came from a hallway opposite to her left side. Judging by the delicious smell of butter and bread, Weiss guessed that the particular corridor led to the kitchen. Yet the morning tea Weiss consumed had been enough to fill her tiny stomach. Avoiding the direction of trailing voices, Weiss headed straight for the front door.
The rest was easy. Slipping away from the mansion, Weiss took in the fresh air of cut grass and morning dew, the scent of sprinklers drizzling water over the decorative daisies and lilies. The driver from yesterday evening had been waiting by the gates. The man, leaning against the vehicle, was munching on a whole grain bagel, chewing loudly as he turned the pages of his newspaper. Weiss tried to keep quiet, not wanting to disturb the man's peaceful breakfast session, but the driver's eyes soon darted towards her as she approached. Choking for a moment, he swallowed most of what was left inside his mouth and then bowed deeply. She apologized for intruding on his meal, but he was more than willing to drop what he was doing, opening the rear door of the car which, to Weiss's great relief, wasn't the lavish limousine from last night.
It was a good fifteen minute drive from the estate to the school. Arguably, the drive would have taken less time if they hadn't stopped at every traffic light available. Weiss just seemed to be having one of those days. Dismally, she stared out the window, watching the streets and stores pass by as the car ran along the main road.
She arrived a minute before eight. The school, from a closing distance, struck Weiss as a small but respectable place for education. Painted, mostly with a light brown color, the building conveyed a very modest and cozy exterior. Two school buses were parked inside a limited car lot. Consequently, the driver let her out by the road.
The entrance buzzed of multiple voices, a motley of interacting teens. Soon she heard a shrill bell ring overhead and everyone, the juniors and the seniors, ran inside in a hurry. Weiss decided not to join them, wanting to take her time as she wasn't sure where to go.
The inside was even plainer with no defining landmarks save the few numbers on the classroom doors. It took effort to find the school office, which was situated at the far right corner of the first floor. Stepping to it, Weiss was going over her own introductory speech when the silence was broken by a series of angry shouts.
Weiss turned the corner to see who had been arguing. Two figures stood inside the main office. Standing only a foot away from each other, they were engaged in some heated debate.
On the right side was a tall woman, who must be a stern teacher at this school. She stood up straight, her posture reminding Weiss of a strict ruler that refused to be bent. Her age was indecipherable; if she was old, she had aged quite beautifully, her skin being almost as smooth as her tightly tied bun.
On the receiving end was a female student, whose hair was wild enough to begin an entire story of its own. She was a blonde of medium height, pulling off a strange look where the bottom half of her attire was a plaid skirt, yet on top was a casual orange t-shirt with a graffiti-like heart pattern.
"Aw, can't you give me a break?" The blonde begged. "My uncle spilled sauce all over my shirt last night."
"Rules are rules." Crossing her arms, the woman's expression remained impassive as before. "You are required to be in proper dress code once the bell rings. Now, did the bell ring?"
"Yes, but-"
"And were you dressed appropriately when the bell rang?"
"Well, no, but still-"
"Then I believe we have settled the matter."
The blonde, who looked as if she still had a lot to say about the subject of discussion, decided to drop silent in deep reluctance. Her lilac eyes instead gazed a bit sideways and spotted Weiss, waiting awkwardly by the threshold to be noticed.
Being rude, the girl pointed. "Uh... I think she wants to talk to you."
"Hmm?" The stern woman pivoted on her bullet heels and stared at Weiss, having noticed her pitiful presence. "Yes, can I help you?"
Timidly approaching, Weiss cleared her throat. "Um... I'm new here and I was told to drop by the office once I arrived."
"Oh. You're the transfer student." The statement seemed to have reminded the woman of her other duties, other than reprimanding non-law abiding students. Traveling around the blonde, she went towards the front desk and shuffled around stacks of paper with her hands. "Hold on for a moment. I've got your files right here. Miss Weiss...Schnee?"
She read her name off of a yellow sticky note. Glumly, Weiss nodded in response.
"Welcome to the school, Miss Schnee. Now, your student ID card will be given to you the following week. All your course books can be bought at the store. And... I see you've already acquired our school uniform." The woman checked her appearance and approved of what she saw. "Very well. Here is your course schedule for the term. It should be self-explanatory. Each student is expected to be at homeroom by eight. And it is...five minutes past eight now."
"Just ask one of the teachers or other students if you feel lost." Her eyes narrowed away from her watch. "Actually... Miss Long. Why don't you show our new student to her first class?"
"No problem!" The blonde grinned widely and then gestured for Weiss to exit with her. "Come on, follow me."
Weiss wasn't eager to have company, but she was ushered out in a hurry; for some reason the blonde seemed to be subtly shoving her out the front door. Only once they were out of ear shot from the office did the pushy girl visibly relax.
"Whew, thanks for saving my ass back there," said the blonde, letting out a huge sigh of relief. "I think I can manage to dodge her 'till gym class. Nobody else gives a crap about the uniform policy except for her."
Then the blonde stopped, realizing that what she had been saying probably didn't make much sense to the new kid.
"By the way, I'm Yang." She flashed her a set of pearly whites. The gesture would have been quite charming if the girl hadn't been wearing such a goofy smile. "Sorry. I'm a bit all over the place this morning."
Weiss suspected that it wasn't restrictive to this morning. "Hello, Yang. I'm-"
"You don't need to tell me your name! I remember." The blonde pulled a long hard look of concentration and then said, "Weiss Schnee, right?"
"...That's right," she confirmed with less of her struggle each time.
"So... You're new." Yang's bright violet orbs sparkled in genuine interest. "Did you just move here into the city?"
"Yes."
"Cool. Where'd you used to live?"
"New Haven."
"Hey, I've been there before!" The blonde hummed in approval. "It's a really nice place to visit in fall."
Weiss remembered the trees, and the way the leaves changed at the peak of autumn. "I suppose so," she shrugged, having no other choice but to agree. A short silence filled the gap and Weiss pondered if the blonde had grown tired of continuing the conversation. Yet Yang had merely been distracted by a short run of vibrations coming from her phone. She tugged it out and snickered at a text message that Weiss could not read.
Wearing yet another bright and dopey expression, she glanced up. "Do you live close to the school then?"
"It's not too far from here," growled Weiss, determined to steer the conversation away from anything remotely Schnee related. "Shouldn't we be heading to our homerooms?"
"Here, let me see your schedule." And without consent, the blonde forcibly stole the piece of paper out of her left hand.
"Right..." Yang crinkled the edges as she held it at a weird angle. "You are in... Oh! You're in room 214! Looks like you're stuck with me then."
Yang laughed a bit, and then returned her schedule. "Ours is on the second floor," she stated, taking Weiss to a staircase placed amid a line of red lockers.
"Just to let you know, that was our vice principal back there," the blonde pursued as they walked along.
"She can be a bit scary and domineering for... Well, for most of the time really. But I think she has a soft spot for smart students so..." Yang's eyes trailed her in half-amusement and half-curiosity. "So... You'll probably be fine."
Weiss wasn't sure which part of her features declared her to be a smart or well-behaved student, but in comparison to the blonde's flaming heart t-shirt, she honestly did feel a bit tame.
"The teachers here are a little bit weird, like our homeroom teacher," Yang carried on. "He has a PhD in world history so he really likes to be called Doctor Oobleck instead of Mr. Oobleck. In case you want to suck up to him. Oh, and the guy talks really fast too, so you're gonna have a hard time keeping up with your notes."
"Thanks for the heads up."
"No, I'm serious." Yang misunderstood her terse reply as a sign of disbelief. "My friend goes through like ten pages of paper per class. I don't know what he puts in his morning coffee but I doubt it's only caffeine if you get my drift."
Weiss merely nodded, tolerating the joke but not finding it in herself to openly laugh at it.
"...You're not much of a talker now, are you?" Picking up on her nonverbal vibe, the blonde eventually asked.
"Not really." She was never the right person to lightly chat with. To be completely honest, Weiss didn't relate well to people in general.
"Well, you're in luck." Yang smiled almost sympathetically as she stopped at a corner, pointing up at a beige door with the numbers two, one, and four marked in black. "Because we're here. And just in time too. I think Oobleck's nearly finished with the morning announcements."
Yang opened the door and marched in, almost too boldly for someone who was obviously tardy for class.
A man with crooked round glasses acknowledged them almost immediately. There was not much to him but a disarrayed pair of trousers and a wrinkled shirt. Even his shoes were incompatible in color. But the nameplate resting on his desk did identify the man as Mr. Oobleck, alerting Weiss that this would be her homeroom teacher for the remaining school year.
Work stationery were scattered messily across his desk, its state of chaos reflecting the strands of green hair that poked out at odd places. Nonetheless, the teacher appeared to be a kind and good-humored person as his initial reaction to Yang had been nothing less than jocular. He jumped off from his desk, knocking down a pencil or two as he did so.
"Ah, Miss Long! How nice of you to finally join us. And what excuse do you have prepared for us this time?" He asked this as if the blonde's fibs were his daily dosages of delight.
"Actually, Doctor Oobleck." Yang smiled proudly enough so that tardiness could have easily been interpreted as her greatest feat of achievement. "I was busy helping out our new student over here."
At the receiving end of the blonde's backwards thumb was a very uncomfortable and very tense Weiss.
"Oh! Why, hello!" Light reflected off of the man's glasses, making it seem like his eyes literally glittered in excitement. He gawked at her, or at least she presumed he was. It was nearly impossible to tell where the teacher was staring at due to the opaqueness of his lenses. "You must be Miss Schnee."
They shook hands in a cordial way, which felt like an odd sort of greeting to have with a teacher. Then the man sent her to an empty desk at the way back. Weiss appreciated that he did not introduce her to the entire class. After all, several of the murmurs and noise of chitchat had died out once she entered the room. The emergence of Yang, however, mildly nullified the silence. The blonde trudged along to her usual seat, which was a few rows into the front, and engaged in conversation with another classmate.
Weiss, instead, kept her head down. It was not long before the bell rang.
The rest of the day passed by in a disturbingly blank blur.
With the end of homeroom period, a majority of the students filed out of the class in a disorderly fashion. The remaining students took out their history books as their teacher rushed out to print out some forgotten handouts. Yang, who was one of the few to have stayed behind, revolved around in her chair and beckoned Weiss to come sit next to her. Apparently there were no seating arrangements.
Doctor Oobleck returned soon enough and handed out the sources needed for today's class; Weiss's packet was thicker as it contained the course syllabus. Yang wasn't exaggerating when she said that the man talked fast. Many others, like Yang, gave up on listening after the first thirty minutes. Some were clicking on their phones, choosing to record the lecture for later usage. Secretly, Weiss reviewed it to be a viable alternative.
After being awoken by the second period bell, Yang offered to be her guide per nobody's request. Not wanting to be a burden, Weiss had full intentions of refusing the proposal, but the blonde obstinately pushed her out the door after stealing another peek at her schedule. Yang didn't seem to be a very timely guide, but her sense of direction was much more reliable than her own. Miraculously, Weiss arrived on time while Yang left in a rush, evidently being late to her own obligations.
At her statistics class, Weiss became acquainted with another generous girl, this time a redhead whose ponytail ran all the way to the middle of her back. She had a very amiable impression, willingly sharing her textbook and offering to walk together to their next class. But Weiss knew where to draw the line when the girl went as far as inviting her to eat lunch at the cafeteria.
Feeling too tense to be hungry, Weiss declined and spent the lunch period wandering around the school grounds by herself. Weiss knew that her body would eventually shut down without food. She wondered if her stomach knew this and somehow unconsciously desired it as well.
The halls were vacant compared to the chaotic state they were in. She supposed that most people would have vacated the school building to eat, socialize, and enjoy the outside air. Weiss mused over her own thoughts in solitude, not being disturbed except by a few curious teachers, who cared enough to notice that she did not belong.
Following the long tiresome break was a time allocated for independent studies. Seeing as that she was still new to the school, Weiss was encouraged to explore, hopefully deciding upon an extracurricular or an elective class she would like to join by the end of the week. In room 214, Doctor Oobleck gifted her with a temporary student pass to the library and a list including all the names of the clubs she could choose to audit for the rest of the afternoon. There were the usual lineups: sports, music, the newspaper, and etc. Although none of the choices intrigued Weiss, she smiled politely at her teacher in order to at least feign interest. Then after being let out, Weiss did not hesitate before choosing to walk towards the library.
As suspected, the library wasn't a very popular choice for students. It was large and copious, with a couple dozen bookshelves being aligned like a maze. The decorator must have sacrificed style for maximum room capacity.
Weiss peeked around, pulling out several books that interested her from the racks. Holding four hardcovers in her arms, she carried them to an unoccupied desk at the farthest corner of the library. Once she took a seat, and pulled in her chair to begin her read, her eyes caught onto something rustling in front of her. Frowning, Weiss looked up and found that several of the books on the shelf were being moved on their own. Someone must have been fiddling with them from the other wide; Weiss could now hear a series of eager squeals. Disinterested, she was prepared to turn back to her novel when the last book on the shelf made a dull thudding sound as it fell onto the floor. Between the gaps that it left behind, Weiss saw a familiar pale face.
It felt like something hard and cold rammed into her stomach. She blinked only once, but during the short interim the figure had instantly vanished, leaving Weiss with nothing but traces of retreating red hair. A slight tingling at the end of her fingers reminded Weiss that she needed to move. Instinct rather than reason came to her help, spurring on her body to sprint around the bookshelf, expecting to catch the mysterious stalker red-handed when-
"Oof!"
Weiss staggered back, not being able to stifle a yelp as she fell on her rear.
"Sorry," a soft voice apologized. "I didn't see you there."
"No. It's my fault." Weiss groaned, rubbing the right side of her hips. "I'm sorry for running into you."
A hand descended to her, offering to help her stand. Weiss took it without much thought. Glancing up, she found a pair of dazzling amber eyes when a boisterous person addressed her from behind.
"Hey, Weiss!" It was Yang, fully clothed in athletic wear this time. "Fancy seeing you here."
"Lower your voice, we're in the library," Weiss heard the girl hiss before directing a puzzled expression to the blonde. "Do you two know each other?"
"Duh." Yang scoffed. "This is Weiss. She's the new transfer student. And Weiss, this is Blake Belladonna. A close friend of mine, unfortunately."
That last word had been added as a teasing joke, yet it gained a response from Blake nonetheless; her golden eyes narrowed to a greater extent, drawing a picture of an irritated cat. It took a second but Weiss eventually recognized the girl from this morning. She had been the one to be sitting next to the blonde during homeroom. Upon closer inspection, Weiss found that Yang's seatmate was fairly pretty and looked much more likely to obey school rules than the blonde ever did.
Yang grinned again as she squeezed Blake's shoulder playfully, pulling the girl closer into her chest. For a moment, the blonde's face evoked another's; remembering who it was Yang resembled, Weiss felt a sudden chill trickle down her spine like a cascade of icy water. Noticing this bizarre reaction, Blake frowned in slight concern. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Quickly, Weiss shook the image of Ruby Rose out of her mind. "It's nothing. I- I have a headache, that's all."
"Oh. That sucks." Yang furrowed her brows with worry. "Do you want us to take you to the nurse or something?"
"No, no." Weiss took a step away from them. "I'm fine, really."
"Are you sure?" asked Blake again and Weiss had the irrational urge to tell the girl to mind her own business.
"Yes," she instead said through gritted teeth. "I'm sure."
Blake and Yang exchanged a nervous glance. Clearly the former hadn't been introduced to Weiss's stubbornness yet. The blonde, who had slightly more experience with it, took charge in changing the subject.
"Well, okay then...?" Yang scratched her nose as if the tension was itching at it. "Anyway... I was just in here looking for my sister. Have you seen her around, Blake?"
"Yeah, but I think she went to check out the fantasy section again," Blake remarked.
"Great... That'll take about an hour." The blonde sighed in complaint. "We were planning on going to the gym afterwards. Did you want to come with?"
The offer came to her so smoothly and quickly. Weiss had to blink several times before being able to register that the question had been directed at her and not Blake.
"No..." She declined politely. "That's all right."
"Aw, come on. It's your first day here! Let us show you around."
"Thank you for the offer, but I should get going," said Weiss, feeling eager to disappear.
"But-"
"Yang," Blake started. "Let it go."
Actually, Weiss was beginning to like the sound of Blake.
"It was nice meeting you, Weiss." The girl bestowed a warm smile onto her. It accented her demeanor much better than the frown ever did. Pulling the pouting blonde by her side, Blake tucked her book into the shelf. "We'll see you tomorrow."
"All right." Weiss grinned at the girl vaguely, watching as the mismatching duo bickered as they left. She waited until they were completely out of her sight and then aimed straight for the door. Holding her breath helped with her nerves, and only when she reached the bathroom floor did she release her lungs from their cruel punishment.
Alerting the authorities was a silly idea. Her senses must be at their climax. Yes, that was it. Nobody was chasing after her. She had simply imagined it. Slapping her cheeks lightly by the mirror, it took several more minutes to recollect her composure.
Weiss considered going back to the Schnee mansion. Then remembering that she had no obligations to do so, as a curfew had never been set, Weiss decided to delay the task for as long as possible. For now, she would simply leave this place. Stopping by her designated locker, Weiss pulled out her bag and then rushed downstairs again.
As she exited the school grounds, Weiss feared that a teacher would catch her as she went without permission. But not even the disciplinary vice principal seemed to sense her presence as she passed by the main office. There was no car waiting for her. If she was ditching school then, god forbid, she shouldn't be doing it with style anyway. Weiss brooded on what her mother would think of all this. It was a sore subject that she swallowed painfully, angry at herself for creating such a reminder.
Outside, the atmosphere had become cold and murky. There were flakes of water and moisture flowing with the wind. The rain was a mere trifle, so weak that it barely tickled her skin. Weiss took out her umbrella nonetheless, keeping it unfolded and in her hands in case of a sudden shift in weather.
Weiss was most sincere in preferring a stroll on her own. After having a simple bite at the local convenience store, she wasted several hours of her life at the park near the school. Her mobile had already received two messages from her father's servants, asking for her whereabouts as she had not been at the school when the bell rang at four. Weiss called back, informing the head butler that she wouldn't be returning until nighttime, lying that she was eating out with a couple of nonexistent friends.
Unsurprisingly, the sun set quickly in the winter. By seven, the sky had already grown dark, encouraging Weiss to slowly walk towards the estate. The light drizzle soon morphed into thick droplets of water, confirming the city's reputation for frequent rainfalls.
Getting wetter by the minute, Weiss hurried across the avenue, panning left to right to make sure she wouldn't get lost. It had been a lost cause though, as she was still clueless to the new environment and had already forgotten the path the driver took in order to drop her off at the school. Confused, Weiss mulled over the idea of calling the head butler for directions, but thankfully found a street sign that she remembered seeing in the morning.
Thump!
Weiss jumped at the noise. Pivoting around, she saw that a neighbor's trash bin had fallen on its side. The lid had opened to spill out some of its insides. Wrinkling her nose, Weiss turned her back to it, assuming that it had been a result of a strong gust of wind. But as soon as did, she patently heard a hiss of pain.
She whirred around again and uttered a single gasp. The trashcan had been correctly set into place.
Blood pounding, Weiss passed the garbage one probing stare before jogging away from it.
Stop it. Weiss. Stop imagining things.
But no regular amount of self-hypnosis could help her ignore the prickles occurring along her shoulders, as if somebody was watching her from afar. Senses heightened, Weiss thought that she could discern a series of strange huffs, like heavy restrained breaths.
Stiffly, she twirled her neck ever-so-slightly and saw all that she needed to see: the color red. Rapidly, Weiss turned the corner, purposefully hastening her pace as she stepped through an empty backstreet.
She knew it. She knew that she wasn't being too paranoid. Her intuitions were almost always correct. Weiss had seen that girl at the school library. And the same cloaked girl had followed her all the way here, waiting to pounce ever since she left the school grounds. And now, with nobody around, it was the ideal opportunity to strike. That absolute lunatic!
The umbrella thumped her back as she sprinted. Exhausted, her vision blurred for a moment, causing her to trip over her own legs onto to a protruding curb. Her knees burned slightly as they scraped against the rough cement. A drop of blood trickled down her leg. Cold rain pelted her onto every speck of fabric and skin.
"Stop following me!" She shouted, flipping around furiously as her last ditch effort.
One. Inhale.
Two. Exhale.
By the third second, Weiss had stopped breathing entirely. And only by the third second was Weiss able to process the truth. The figure that had been chasing her had neither been female…nor human.
The red eyes that glowered at her were unlike any dog or wolf, any canine she had ever seen. In fact, the creature didn't look real. The appearance was so foreign from any species she had ever even heard of. It showed off a short sturdy skull that resembled a dinosaur or some sort of prehistoric lizard. There was no line of fur; its entire body was like a blob of black ink, and from its rear to its forehead was a thick white shell, inconsistent in its bone-like spikes and red accents. The creature stood only on hind limbs, as there was nothing to support it at the front. Weiss wondered if the forelimbs had been severed off but the creature moved too easily without them. Claws flashed dangerously out of their joints.
…Maybe it's friendly? Weiss's laughable thought dispersed quickly as the creature growled. It wasn't a sound that could have been made by a mere animal. It was malicious. It was evil in its purest form.
A call for help would have been nice, but her voice lost its way inside her raspy throat. An invisible hand clasped over her mouth, refusing to allow a scream to escape. Weiss didn't have to look behind her to see that she had hit another dead end. She took one step backwards and fell onto the ground once again, quivering, not in control of her mind or body.
The creature stamped forward. With an unexpected screech, it charged. Weiss had no chance to lift her arms, petrified by the monstrous red eyes that glared at her without pupils. She smelled of rain, dirt, and fear.
"…Weiss!"
Her heart stopped.
"Weiss!"
A flurry of rose petals distracted her from death. The sky must have cracked open, bestowing onto her a reddish tornado, a whirlwind motion of crimson and neighboring leaves.
There was a bone-crunching blow as the monster made contact with it. And whatever the obstacle had been, it went several feet into the air, being sent a couple hundred meters before crashing loudly onto the alley wall. There was a dull thud, and then the rumble of falling boxes and several aluminum cans rattling against each other.
The cry of horror finally rolled off of Weiss's tongue.
Taken aback, the creature gave a violent lurch, tumbling on the ground as it angrily found its footing. Weiss jolted upwards, dodging its snarl, practically diving towards the spot where her rescuer had crashed. The figure was undoubtedly human; she saw the contours of arms and legs digging out of the disarrayed trashcans and recycling bins.
"Oh my god! Are you okay? Are you-?" Weiss choked on her own words.
Her savior, who had half-risen and smoothed her hair, looked with a mixture of trouble and caution.
"You!" Weiss yelled, pointing a daringly accusing finger up at the pair of unblinking silver eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. Good to see you too," Ruby drawled. The girl, ever since their foremost encounter, seemed to have turned immune to her screams. Or perhaps it was the current situation that called for the girl to be more intimidating and brave. Whatever it was, it encouraged more input of sarcasm than formerly needed.
"Thanks for saving my life, Ruby. Oh, it was no problem, Weiss," she heard the girl distinctly mutter under her breath.
"Now is not the time to joke!" Weiss reasoned, though her anger was quickly drowned by another bestial growl. Alarmed, she shuffled backwards, without meaning to, hiding behind Ruby who involuntarily became a human shield. "What- What is that thing?"
Ruby simply ignored her, choosing to stare the creature dead on, with eyes that portrayed no dreading trepidation. Her gaze conveyed serious thought, like a careful strategist who had been in this situation countless times before. Baffled, Weiss grabbed the girl by the shoulders and shook her violently. "Do something!"
"I can't," Ruby grunted. "I don't- I don't have Crescent Rose with me."
"Crescent what-?" Weiss had been asking when she saw the beast charge at them through the corner of her vision. "Duck!"
They managed to dive away, just in time as the beast lunged above their heads. If they had stayed, the creature's monstrous teeth would have torn through their bare necks. Thankfully, the creature crashed into the brick wall, the impact making it temporarily lose its bearings.
Mind in such a tailspin, Weiss could not function properly, barely being able to get back on her legs. There was a strong but gentle pressure on her left arm. She glanced up to see that Ruby was already standing, attempting to hold her up and watch the monster at the same time.
"Let's get out of here!" Weiss suggested out of panic.
However, Ruby refused to budge.
"We can't leave it here!" The girl argued as she searched around tactfully. "Do you have anything with you? Anything sharp or pointy like a knife?"
"No! Who do you think I am?" Weiss roared. "I don't walk around armed!"
"What about any Dust?"
"Oh, that's a great idea," she said dryly. "We'll make the thing sneeze to its death by tickling its nose."
"That's not what I meant and you know it!" It was Ruby's turn to get angry. Her silver eyes flickered for a moment, being hurt by her own words. Then her doubtful gaze teetered off, shifting towards something below their feet. "What's that?"
"What?" Weiss followed the girl's stare and gaped down at the object that had been collecting rain. "You don't mean-"
"That'll have to do," stated Ruby and without further ado took the gritty umbrella from the ground.
"Are you insane?" Weiss shrieked, but the girl had already started to fold the umbrella in, holding the invention like one would hold a double-edged sword. "What are you doing?"
"Just stay back," Ruby ordered her in a snappish manner.
"But, wait-" Blue eyes growing wide, Weiss could do nothing else but stare hopelessly at the girl, feeling more and more useless as Ruby took off without further instructions. Weiss already missed the warmth the girl's firm grip had provided on her arm. "Wait!"
She had no clue what the girl was planning on doing, and frankly she was too afraid to ask. An umbrella was nothing even remotely close to a weapon, certainly not something that could be used to combat a brutish monster with. But simply by holding the umbrella did Ruby gain an abundant amount of indefensible confidence. It went far beyond Weiss's level of understanding and comprehension.
The creature, wrestling with its hunger and snapping its powerful jaws, delayed no more time to dine. Ruby, equally determined, ran forward. For a second, the girl vanished. Then she materialized elsewhere, umbrella raised, right in front of the creature's awaiting jaws. Terrified to witness a massacre, Weiss closed her eyes as she heard the demoralizing sound of a body being torn apart.
Why? Why did the girl have to insist on acting as the hero? She cried, her body shuddering as her eye lids finally puckered up the courage to open. What Weiss saw provided her with another mild heart attack.
Standing, quite comfortably and safely, on the ground was Ruby.
At the end of her outstretched arm was the monster, floating in mid-air. It was twitching, but otherwise remained absolutely still. Weiss had to squint harder through the rain to assess the outcome more clearly. The beast hadn't been airborne, she observed in mixed amazement. It had been skewered like a barbecue stick, through the mouth, into its throat, directly into its internal guts. Emitting a strangled snivel, it twitched once more before the armored skin began creating a strange fizzing noise. Weiss couldn't believe what she was seeing. Initially, the air around the beast seemed to be wrapped in a black smog. Then, she realized, that the corner edges of the monster's shell had started to disappear.
Weiss soon understood that the carcass was literally disintegrating, vaporizing into a cloud of thick coal-like smoke until nothing more remained behind but a ripped, tarnished, umbrella.
Ruby lowered her weapon. Weiss took it to mean that it was safe for her to move. Carefully, she took three hesitant steps towards the spot where the beast had evidently evaporated. She checked once more to be certain, to make sure that there really was nothing.
"...What was that thing?" Her mouth involuntarily whispered.
Ruby stared at her with an unbearably depressing countenance, an expression that said that her worst fears had been confirmed by the ignorant question.
"That was a Creep," she answered, much like this was common sense to everyone.
"A- A Creep?" Weiss didn't dare comment against it.
Ruby plodded back to her. The heiress tried hard not to wince as the umbrella flicked at her direction. She expected to be stabbed, overthinking that her tone of voice had provoked the girl into attacking. She instead watched as Ruby slowly opened up the contraption. Incredibly enough, the umbrella still functioned, though much of its surface had been ripped and sported quite a few noticeable holes. Nevertheless, Ruby offered it to her like a treaty for peace.
"Here," she said shortly, but Weiss did not take it. She was too busy scrutinizing the girl's attire. Nothing had been torn, and none of her limbs had been cut or bruised. That was impossible, Weiss deemed. The girl had flown at least six feet into the air and had crashed on impact. She should have fractured a bone or two, suffered a level three concussion at the very least… But the girl in front of her was perfectly fine. There wasn't even an ounce of pain in the way she stood or moved. The only readable feature on her face was concern. Concern not for her own body, but for her, for Weiss.
"It's raining," Ruby added in a murmur. "You might catch a cold."
"Speak for yourself," Weiss countered quietly, but chose to take the umbrella into her unsteady hands. She gripped on the handle with all ten fingers, worried that under her current level of stress, she may unknowingly drop it. Staying on alert, Weiss took a conscious step forward, hoping that the small umbrella could shelter both of them. She was still afraid of the strange girl with the red cape, but not nearly as much as she had been beforehand.
Ruby didn't notice her considerate advance. Instead, her silver eyes pierced the front of Weiss's shirt.
"What are you wearing?" The girl asked with an injured sniff.
Weiss glanced down, half-expecting to see something indecent. The manner in which the girl asked certainly made it sound like her current fashion was wildly inappropriate.
"This is my uniform," she responded after a short period of self-inspection.
"Your school uniform?" The girl emphasized the middle of her phrase, as if that made a huge difference to the question.
"Yes, this is my school uniform," she confirmed with waning patience.
"...It looks different." That was all the explanation given to her. In spite of the situation, Weiss felt her temper flare. Instead of words of pure gratitude, Weiss found herself expressing the exact opposite of her sentiments.
"What are you still doing here?" She asked sharply. "Didn't I warn you that I would call the cops?"
"...I'm sorry," Ruby barely replied. "I didn't know where else to go."
"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, softening her attitude after noting the other's ashen pallor. "Where do you live?"
"I... I don't know." The girl, who had single-handedly taken out a shadowy monster, visibly recoiled at the mere question. "I don't know where this place is. It's not Vale. It's definitely not Patch... I tried asking around to figure out where I was."
She trembled faintly and then continued with a hollow voice.
"At first… I thought you were the only one acting weird. But you're not." Ruby stared off into the distance, droplets of rain accentuating her look of detachment. "Nobody seems to understand what I'm talking about when I ask them. Nobody- Nobody remembers. I don't know what's wrong with everybody. I'm not even sure if they are the problem anymore."
"You're the only face I recognize around here." Weiss didn't like the hesitancy in the girl's tone. And yet Ruby trusted her and she had given Weiss no other reason to think that she was lying. "You're the only one who can help me. Weiss, please."
Mentally, Weiss agreed with her. But the concurrence ended there.
Their interaction should finish here. Weiss planned on running away from the scene, wiping her memory clean of every surreal event that had happened to her throughout the day. That would be the mentally healthy thing to do.
But this girl... She could have easily ignored her as well, choosing to stay out of the fight instead of charging recklessly into battle. Yet this stranger had chosen to save her life. The umbrella, tattered on every side, proved this to be true. It was undoubtedly the most selfless and courageous act Weiss had ever seen in her life.
That beast. It was hard to forget it now, its protruding teeth and unsettling red eyes having been permanently etched onto her mind. It was possible that her adrenaline, her fear, had created something that wasn't really there. Weiss was on the verge of thinking that she had gone crazy, her overwhelmed mind having triggered her brain to dramatize something that was ultimately normal and ordinary, like a wild boar or a rabid dog.
Sirens echoed in the distance. There wasn't much time left to decide. After one more fleeting look at the girl, Weiss made up her mind.
It was simple. All questions would be answered in due time. For now, she owed this girl her life. And Weiss never liked being indebted to anyone.